mountainwampus

I actually think he's a great player, but the whole scheme is flawed. Teams know this is the guy that rushes on 3rd down and they either pick up the blitz or they run right at him for 1st downs. Linebacker was supposed to be Maybin's other option on draft day, and now that Mitchell's injured, it's time to move him.

I think as a pass rushing DE he's already a bust. 6 games, 3 tackles, 0 sacks and he's already made 1.9 Million (38% of $5m). I think he would be an instant threat at OLB. At least as good as the current OLB's.

I mean, if he stays at DE he'll be a bust (common term for top draft picks that don't pan out.) Sorry if it's a stupid title. Still a valid point.

It really looks like Maybin's gonna keep getting shut down all year so why not give him a chance at linebacker? At least he has speed to chase guys down and maybe prevent all these 30+ yard runs and he can still blitz at random and get actual sacks. Seems like a no-brainer.

I'm just saying they're not as horrible as the stats suggest. 98-99 was hard to top for sure.

We've got a great defense this year that looks bad on paper because they're on the field 75% of the game. Give this team a chance. The LB's are pretty thin right now, but every other position is stacked. If the offense can keep a few drives alive, the run defense will get more rest and stop more runs.

Of course it is. The main comparison is how well the QB's handle pressure. Fitz was not sacked once with 4 rookie linemen and Edwards is a sack magnet that now has a concussion because of it. '98 was nearly identical. Everyone blamed the OL for Johnson sucking, until Flutie took over and showed that QB's can make good plays under pressure.

People said I was crazy in '98, when I told them Flutie would get us to the playoffs.

Fitzpatrick/Flutie: went to college in Boston Edwards/Johnson: went to college in California

Was Fitzy even sacked once? He should have been but somehow escaped pressure several times. How many times has Edwards escaped pressure? Zero. He's the second most sacked QB in the NFL right now. Rob Johnson held a similar title. I'm not saying Fitzy is ever gonna be a Flutie, but you must admit, he can manage the offense and escape sacks. He also seemed to eliminate false start penalties. THAT was magic.

No no no. Forget about 1999, this post is about 1998, a somewhat happy year for Bills fans.

Yeah, I agree Flutie was better, but at the time, it wasn't obvious. Just like now, it's not obvious how much better Fitzpatrick is.

This season is giving me deja vu. In 1998, the Bills started 1-3 with Rob Johnson, and he was being sacked left and right. He gets injured, then Flutie came in and started winning games, gets into the playoffs. NOT because Flutie was really much better than Johnson, but because he wasn't getting sacked 8 times a game like Johnson. I see a lot of Rob Johnson in Edwards and a lot of Flutie in Fitzpatrick. I really think Fitzy will get us into the playoffs.

Edwards might be good on a team with a good OL, but not the Bills. Fitzy is frantic yet decisive and handles pressure well. Was he even sacked? Edwards hasn't escaped pressure once all year.

ok. we may lose but there's a lot to build on. and no false starts since fitz took over. WTF?

I totally agree. This no huddle idea is not panning out. You can't expect to win when the defense is exhausted by the end of a game.

My bad. BTW, Florence made some great plays.

Did anyone notice that most of the Saints first drive yardage was on McKelvin's blown coverage (2x)? Then he gets injured, and (edit:) Florence takes over, and our defense was able to stop them consistently until late in the game. I think McKelvin's biggest problem is he's not very smart, can't "read" a route very well. And don't forget, he fumbled TWICE against New England (Nic Harris recovered first one) as if he was being paid to purposely fumble (Must. Not. Let. Knee. Go. Down. until. ball. is. Loose!) McKelvin... You ARE the weakest link!

Hangartner had more problems than just snapping the ball. He was getting knocked on his ace almost every play of the forth quarter, leaving Edwards to pick a ball off the ground AND avoid a nose tackle. Gotta fault coaching for not benching him.